for me yeah...perhaps my memory doesn't serve me well but Season 1 mirrored fairly well to the comics...perhaps Season 2. yes, there are parallels through all seasons with the comics but i think the comics portray what people want in the TV series which it had at the beginning.
With the power of teh internets, I found that the biggest selling issue of the comics was #100, which sold 384,800 issues back in 2012 and remains the highest selling of the series. Even if each unit sold represented one person that's less than half a million people measuring the tv series by the comic. But since many comics readers are collectors and need an extra copy or two to stow in their parent's basement, I'm going to say that number is even smaller.
Compared to the 15.7 million tv viewers who caught the season 5 finale, it's fair to say that far less people measure the show based on its adherence to the comics than do.
for example...baby Judith.
I'll admit I enjoyed the TV series in a totally different way before I started reading the comics but that isn't due to wishing they'd adhere to them more- it's because they stick to it in ways that mean I now know the major plot points before they're reached. The first 3 seasons were all new territory for me and that made the show really intriguing. I almost want to stop reading the comics to regain a little of that unknown, but nahhh.
I think it boils down to which media you consume first. I'll be the first to admit, I've still never read Jurassic Park... I've seen the movie dozens of times. It's a classic. But most say the book is better. Maybe one day I'll find out but it's not going to make me enjoy the movie any less.
I know most commenters in this thread stopped watching back in 2011, but regardless, if any comic guys caught the second half of this season you should be happy since it
was almost a page for page reenactment.